Table 1.

Points to consider when evaluating a behavioral test.

Motivation	How are the animals motivated to perform the task? Is the level of motivation high and stable? Can the source of the motivation interfere with the disease model?
Animal-experimenter interaction	Are the experimenter and the animal in close contact during testing? Can handling be performed prior to testing to allow the animals to adjust to human contact?
Dynamic range	Can the test make accurately measure the ability of both naïve and severely impaired animals? Is there a risk for flooring or ceiling effects? Can the test difficulty be adjusted within or between trials?
Repeatability	Can the test be repeated to assess changes in ability over time?
Interaction with other tests	Is there a risk that the test experience can affect the behavior in other test?
Data collection	How are the results collected? Is there a risk for subjective effects in the evaluation? Can the results be collected automatically?
Result evaluation	Which statistical tests can be used to evaluate the results? How are the results presented?
Result interpretation	Can the results be attributed to a single domain or can, for example, changes in general activity level interfere with the measurements?
Automation	How much of the test procedure is automated? Does the test have the potential to be fully automated?
Variability	Can the results be related to baseline performance to mitigate the effects of variability? Can the estrous cycle of female animals be measured to restrict testing to a single day in the cycle?
Experimental design	Can the test be performed in a blinded fashion? Can the test be used for both mice and rats of different strains and stocks to obtain more robust results?
Sensory modality	Which sensory modality does the animal use to solve the task? Is it possible to confirm intact sensory functions?
Predictive validity	Do drugs approved for human use improve test results for rodents?
Construct validity	Does the test rely on brain structures used for this psychological construct in humans?
Ethological validity	Does the test resemble natural rodent behavior?
Face validity	Is it immediately apparent what the test is intended to measure?
Intrinsic validity	Does the test give the same result when experiments are repeated?
Extrinsic validity	Does the test give the same result when performed in, for example, different strains, age group or species?
Housing	Does the test cause restrictions on how the animals can be housed? Can the social status be assessed for group housed animals to allow the creation of balanced experimental groups?
Throughput	How long does it take to run the test? Do the animals have to be trained before performing the test? Can several animals be tested in parallel? Is the collection and evaluation of the results time consuming?
Costs	How much does the equipment cost? How much lab space has to be devoted to the test? How much staff time does the test require?
Practical considerations	Can the equipment be stowed away when not in use? Is extensive training of the experimenter required to carry out the test? Does the test have to be performed on several consecutive days which may overlap with weekends, holidays and vacations? Can the test be run by a substitute in case of sick leave? Can the test equipment be easily cleaned and disinfected?

The points are ordered as they appear in the text and the importance of each point has to be assessed based on the goals of individual projects.